THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER AND OTHER FILM MUSIC

VARIOUS

Rating:

Original Review: Released in 1989 as a tribute to George Korngold,
son of the great composer Erich Wolfgang, who died of cancer during the album's
production and who was a tireless campaigner for the release of older, rarer
film music titles, this compilation by Varese Sarabande is an excellent collection
of little known themes by mainly comparatively little known composers, most
of which pre-date 1970, and is of special interest to soundtrack collectors
for its inclusion of four suites from Korngold scores, plus a cue from John
Williams much sought-after Jane Eyre. The Korngold cues are from the films
Between Two Worlds, The Constant Nymph, The Prince and the Pauper and Escape
Me Never, the best being the achingly beautiful string theme from Between
Two Worlds, titled 'Mother and Son', the quirky and amusing 'Flirtation'
cue from The Prince and the Pauper and the wonderfully romantic love theme
from Escape Me Never. John Williams is honoured with two cues here: 'Carriage
Ride to Thornfield' from Jane Eyre is light and chirpy little scherzo for
flutes and strings, but his other inclusion, a suite from the 1969 movie
The Reivers, is not particularly to my taste - it sounds too much like whistling
Dixie, although some of it is quite nice and it is hailed as a classic by
Williams fans. I do like Miklós Rózsa's beautiful love theme from 'The Lost
Weekend', though, and also the Midnight on the Cliffs theme from the film
Julie, a lovely piano solo written by legendary concert pianist Leonard Pennario
- his only film score to date - which uses piano scales to invoke images
of waves crashing onto distant shores. I have also finally found an Alex
North score I like - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the main title for
which is a mellow, subdued violin theme with a sublime guitar melody. The
other cues pass the time quite nicely without any particular standouts, except
for my favourite of all: Michael J. Lewis' glorious theme from The Madwoman
of Chaillot: a dramatic, uplifting, sweeping string theme with accompaniment
from a Jew's harp and an accordion to represent the glories and tragedies
of la belle France. Overall, this is a worthy addition to any collection, especially for those who like scores from Hollywood's Golden Era.

Track Listing:

Suite from The Reivers (John Williams) (5:02)

Love Theme from The Lost Weekend (Miklós Rózsa) (5:10)

The Carriage Ride to Thornfield from Jane Eyre (John Williams) (1:50)

Mother and Son/Piano Rhapsody from Between Two Worlds (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) (5:49)

Overture from The Constant Nymph (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) (8:12)

Ballet Waltz from The Spectre of the Rose (George Antheil) (4:11)

End Title from The Madwoman of Chaillot (Michael J. Lewis) (4:11)

Love Theme from Cleopatra (Alex North) (2:24)

Midnight on the Cliffs from Julie (Leonard Pennario) (5:15)

Main Title from Who's Afraif of Virginia Woolf? (Alex North) (2:36)

Flirtation from The Prince and the Pauper (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) (2:14)

Love for Love from Escape Me Never (Erich Wolfgang Korngold) (3:18)

Overture from Anne of the 1000 Days (Georges Delerue) (2:55)

Suite from Henry V (William Walton) (13:23)

Running Time: 66 minutes 39 seconds

Varése Sarabande (1989)

Conducted by Charles Gerhardt. Performed by The National Philharmonic Orchestra. Recorded and mixed by John Acoca. Album produced by George Korngold.

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